An international human rights group has called on Burma's military government to investigate and prosecute attacks against political and human rights activists.

In a statement released Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the latest attacks on rights groups in the military-ruled nation.

The rights group said several recent attacks on protesters were carried out by members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a social movement it says is supported by the military government.

HRW says the USDA has also been involved in attacks against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It also says the government has let the group stage demonstrations outside the British and American embassies in Rangoon.

The rights group says it is concerned abuses are being committed by civilian organizations that have received paramilitary training from the military-ruled government under the pretense of protecting the nation from domestic threats.